A volcanic eruption produces fine particles of ash and sometimes ice. Friction between the ash and gases from the eruption produces static electricity. Sometimes called dirty thunderstorms due to moist convection and ice formation that drive plume dynamics, can trigger volcanic lightning. The various mechanisms behind the phenomena are called ice charging, frictional charging, fractoemission, and radioactive charging. Volcanic lightning is hard to study because a lot of volcanos are remotely located and infrequently erupt.